UAE says two soldiers dead in Yemen - state news agency

ByREUTERS

February 17, 2017 10:52

RIYADH - A soldier from the United Arab Emirates died while taking part in a Saudi-led military operation in Yemen, state news agency WAM reported on Friday, without clarifying the circumstances of his death.

A second Emirati soldier in Yemen died of a heart attack, the report said.

The UAE is a member of a mostly Gulf Arab military coalition led by Saudi Arabia that is backing Yemen's internationally recognized government in a nearly two-year war against the Iran-allied Houthi group.

In coordination with local Yemeni fighters, Emirati soldiers have played the main role this month in capturing the port town of al-Mokha, part of a strategic push to deny Houthi forces access to Yemen's Red Sea ports.